Iraq (MNN) — Over the last few years, Christians in Iraq have built a thriving digital church. Samuel with Redemptive Stories says there are two main reasons.
Firstly, women who come to faith often face persecution, finding it hard to travel alone. Samuel says, “Maybe God has appeared to them in a vision or a dream, or even social media. But still, they might live in their family home. But having access to smartphones has opened up an avenue for them to hear about the Gospel and the hope and the joy offered in Jesus Christ.”
“After that, there needs to be an opportunity for discipleship. And that’s where digital church comes in.”
Secondly, Samuel says, many people have come to faith in places without physical churches. This especially applies to places in the rural south and west, far away from the big cities.
Church growth
And many people are coming to faith in the risen Jesus. Samuel says, “I think the biggest shock has been the sheer numbers. If you look at the numbers from different organizations, in terms of those that have responded to the Gospel, some are counting numbers in the millions.”
Praise God for the connections being built between Christians in Iraq.
As people move back into areas destroyed by the Islamic State, some have begun rebuilding churches. Samuel says, “That is the ideal. And we look at digital churches in many cases as the bridge to the ideal.”
In the meantime, pray for boldness and encouragement from the Holy Spirit to rest upon Christian in Iraq.
